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Movies / On DVD / Things We Lost in the Fire
Things We Lost in the Fire

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Things We Lost in the Fire (2007)

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Reviews Counted:120

Fresh:77

Rotten:43

Average Rating:6.5/10

Consensus: Things We Lost in the Fire is a well-acted, beautifully filmed reflection on love, loss, addiction and recovery from life's obstacles.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] Rated R for drug content and language.

Runtime: 1 hr 59 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Oct 19, 2007 Wide

Box Office: $3,241,832

Synopsis: Danish director Susanne Bier gained international acclaim when she was nominated for an Oscar for 2006's AFTER THE WEDDING, but before that she had strong ties to the hyper-realistic, documentary... Danish director Susanne Bier gained international acclaim when she was nominated for an Oscar for 2006's AFTER THE WEDDING, but before that she had strong ties to the hyper-realistic, documentary style of the Dogme 95 group. In her U.S. debut, THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE, Bier effectively brings together her tendency towards soapy subject matter and her signature vérité style, creating characters with a depth and a human fallibility that are rare in Hollywood. Halle Berry (X-MEN, THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD) stars as Audrey Burke, the stay-at-home wife of well-to-do real estate broker Brian (David Duchovny, TRUST THE MAN). They enjoy what is to all appearances a perfect marriage and family life, with two adorable children (Alexis Llewelyn and Micah Berry) and a fabulous house. Audrey's life is shattered when Brian is killed attempting to intervene in a domestic dispute. In her grief, Audrey reaches out to an unlikely ally: her husband's childhood friend, Jerry (Benicio del Toro, TRAFFIC, 21 GRAMS), a 40-something heroin addict whose relationship with Brian Audrey has always resented. After Brian's death, Jerry goes straight, and Audrey invites him to move into her home, where he bonds with Audrey's kids and begins to heal. The uneasy, tense, and tender relationship that develops between Audrey and Jerry is the heart of the film, with del Toro's charismatic performance suggesting realms of human experience previously uncharted on film: his portrayal of withdrawal symptoms rivals Ewan McGregor's memorable TRAINSPOTTING scene. Berry takes more subtle risks with her role, testing the viewer's sympathy with a somewhat prickly character. Allison Lohman (FLICKA) is a strong supporting character as a Narcotics Anonymous attendee with a crush on Jerry. [More]

Starring: Halle Berry, Benicio Del Toro, David Duchovny, Omar Benson Miller

Starring: Halle Berry, Benicio Del Toro, David Duchovny, Omar Benson Miller, Alison Lohman, John Carroll Lynch

Director: Susanne Bier

Director: Susanne Bier
Screenwriter: Allan Loeb
Producer: Sam Mendes, Sam Mercer
Composer: Johan Soderqvist
Studio: Paramount Pictures

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Release:

Mar 4, 2008

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Reviews for Things We Lost in the Fire

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In a case of cathartic mutual therapy, Berry once again knocks me out with the depth of her talent and the perfection of her beauty.

Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment 3 Comments
10/04/07
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

The film felt very anti-climatic to me for some reason.

Full Review Source: WJFK-FM (CBS Radio) | comment 1 Comment
05/26/08
Kevin McCarthy
Kevin McCarthy
WJFK-FM (CBS Radio)

A movie about loss and mourning and bottomless sadness. But its very production is, on another level, a reason to celebrate.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment 1 Comment
10/19/07
Stephen Whitty
Stephen Whitty
Newark Star-Ledger
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Serves as strong reminder of what a powerfully charismatic and completely natural actor Benicio Del Toro is.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
10/19/07
Detroit News
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
10/20/07
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Screen International | comment Comment
10/20/07
Screen International

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
02/01/08
Empire Magazine
N/R

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Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
02/05/08
BBC
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
04/03/08
Boxoffice Magazine
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
10/18/08
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Where the film's ambitions crumble is in its avowed refusal to make its audience too uncomfortable.

Full Review Source: MSNBC | comment Comment
05/01/08
Alonso Duralde
Alonso Duralde
MSNBC

Scheduled blowups and symbolic dreams and interminable tears until we all feel like we've learned a little something about loss: We want our two hours back.

Full Review Source: I.E. Weekly | comment Comment
02/22/08
Amy Nicholson
Amy Nicholson
I.E. Weekly

The best part of the film is del Toro's performance, a junkie jumble of many layers, glued together with a deep seated humanity that reaches out to us.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
08/14/08
Andrew L. Urban
Andrew L. Urban
Urban Cinefile

Things We Lost in the Fire is certainly not a comedy, but it is definitely mordant with its two Big Themes: Loss and Addiction, both treated in a singularly heavy-handed manner, for which I blame primarily Mr. Loeb’s screenplay.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
10/31/07
Andrew Sarris
Andrew Sarris
New York Observer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Highlighted by a performance by Benicio Del Toro at his most magnetically bedraggled, this is a welcome rarity: a full-on heartstring yanker that doesn't leave the viewer feeling ill-used afterward.

Full Review Source: The Stranger (Seattle, WA) | comment Comment
10/17/07
Andrew Wright
Andrew Wright
The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

[Del Toro is] both beast and beauty in a movie that mismanages the idea that life is not a fairy tale.

Full Review Source: New York Press | comment Comment
10/24/07
Armond White
Armond White
New York Press

Things We Lost in the Fire is the best of the recent crop of films about coping with loss. It also boasts a quietly riveting performance by Benicio Del Toro.

Full Review Source: KPBS.org | comment Comment
10/20/07
Beth Accomando
Beth Accomando
KPBS.org

'Things We Lost in the Fire' deserves praise for its top-notch performances and its humanistic treatment of such serious subject matter as grief and addiction.

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
10/28/07
Betty Jo Tucker
Betty Jo Tucker
ReelTalk Movie Reviews

As yet another example of a gifted foreign filmmaker...fudging up their reputation by traveling over to Tinsel Town for some Western promise, Things We Lost in the Fire is Lifetime lite cinema masquerading as actual A-list excellence.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
10/19/07
Bill Gibron
Bill Gibron
PopMatters

Haunting cinema...an exquisite film of mammoth dramatic reach and sympathy, and it presents Susanne Bier as one of the most observant, patient filmmakers working today.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
10/18/07
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
eFilmCritic.com
 
 
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